Day Will Come (7 page)

For the next three days Dan was out of the office most of the time. Grace knew he must have taken the medical, but he hadn’t mentioned it. She would have known if he hadn’t passed, though, because his volatile nature would have erupted. He was sweeping around like a man with a purpose, and whatever he was doing it was personal because he hadn’t asked for her help.

The door opened and the colonel looked in. ‘Do you know where Dan is, Grace?’

‘No, sir. I haven’t seen much of him this week.’

Colonel Askew shook his head. ‘He should let you know where he’s going. Tell him I want to see him when he shows his face.’

‘I will, sir. If he doesn’t come back this afternoon, I’ll leave a message for him. I’m afraid he’s in and out, and prowling around like a tiger.’

The colonel laughed. ‘That’s very apt. The Royal Hampshire Regiment are nicknamed “The Hampshire Tigers”.’

‘Ah, well,’ Grace smiled, ‘he’s in the right outfit.’

‘Now he’s passed the medical he can’t wait to rejoin them. He won’t suffer any delays, either. He’s probably out making sure his return is immediate.’

Now she knew, Grace thought, as the officer left. She could be out of a job after tomorrow. One thing was for sure; she wasn’t going to rush into anything this time. She hadn’t been thinking straight after Brian’s death, but she would take time with her next move.

It was late in the afternoon when Dan swept back in to the office. ‘Make some tea, Grace, and is there anything to eat in this place?’

She nodded. ‘I’ll find you something, sir. What would you like?’

‘Anything.’

Grace soon returned with a plate of cheese sandwiches. ‘This was all I could get.’

‘That’s fine.’ He smiled as he took one from the plate. ‘Thanks Grace. You’re a treasure.’

By the time she had made the tea, the plate was empty. ‘Would you like some more?’

He shook his head as she handed him a cup of tea.

‘Colonel Askew would like to see you.’

‘Right.’ Dan drank the tea, and held the cup out for a refill. That disappeared just as quickly. ‘I’ll go and see him now.’

He swept out of the office, and Grace watched the closing door with amusement. Tiger was indeed apt.

‘You wanted to see me, George?’

‘Oh, you’ve decided to pay us a visit, have you?’ He studied his nephew carefully. Even as a child, Dan had been
a force to be reckoned with, and since his experiences in France and Dunkirk, that quality was even more noticeable. ‘Got what you wanted, have you?’

‘I’m off to Lower Barracks, Winchester, on Sunday.’

‘Have you told Grace?’

‘Not yet.’

‘Then you had better do it today, Dan. If I’d known you were going to return to active duty so soon, I would have tried to find her a different position. Assigning her to you was a mistake.’

‘No, it wasn’t!’ Dan exclaimed angrily. ‘I told her right from the beginning that the job probably wouldn’t last long. She’s an intelligent girl. She understood. I’ve done what I could for her. She’s had the very best driving instruction it’s possible to get. I’ve also tried to find her another job here, without success. What more do you and James expect me to do? There’s a bloody war on, Colonel, and I’m going back to my regiment where I belong!’

Dan surged to his feet, ready to storm out of the office and stopped in mid-stride. He was looking into the face of a girl who was not at all happy about what she had just heard.

Grace was not only furious – she was hurt, as well. Her gaze was icy as she looked at the two men. ‘No one has the right to believe they can decide my future! I am quite capable of finding my own way in life, without interference from you. How dare you presume what I should, or should not, do! And you are wrong, Colonel. You didn’t make a mistake – I did. James should have told me you were almost family. I didn’t want to keep the appointment he had made for me, but, out of loyalty to him, I came. He also had no
right to believe I needed looking after. I’m good at my job, and will make my own decisions.’

Grace stepped round Dan, picked up the telephone and dialled a number. ‘General Norton, I have Major Chester for you.’

She turned and thrust the phone into Dan’s hand. ‘He wants to speak with you – urgently.’

As Grace swept out of the office, Dan hesitated, not wanting her to leave like this, but he was trapped. With a frustrated growl, he put the phone to his ear.

‘Chester, sir.’

It turned out to be a lengthy call, and by the time Dan arrived back in his office, there was no sign of Grace. He swore fluently, and spun round, nearly crashing into his uncle.

‘It’s no good tearing after her, I tried to catch her, but she’s gone.’

‘Damn and blast!’

George grimaced. ‘At least that’s milder than the last lot of expletives you used. Stop fretting. Anyone would think you had formed an attachment to the girl.’

‘You’re letting your imagination run away with you, Uncle. She’s been good while she’s worked for me, and hasn’t flinched, no matter what I have thrown at her. I don’t want to leave with a bad feeling between us. That’s all.’

‘There isn’t much we can do tonight, so leave it until tomorrow. She’ll come back. She’s too professional to leave without giving proper notice.’

Dan shook his head. ‘You know I’ve never been able to leave things unresolved. And she’s right. We have no right to interfere in her life, or try to protect her as if she was a child.
If James hadn’t sent her to us, would we be acting like this?’

‘I doubt it. James was so insistent in his letter that we look after her, and out of our affection for him that’s what we have been trying to do. A clumsy effort, as it turns out.’

‘Unnecessary and unwanted, as well.’ Dan prowled the office. ‘I didn’t see that before. She was always willing to please, tackling every task I gave her with good humour and at my side whenever I needed her. In that composed, softly spoken girl, there is a strong, independent woman. And I never saw it.’

‘No, and I don’t suppose James did, either. She’s the perfect secretary. That’s her job, and she does it well.’

Dan nodded. ‘Now the real Grace has been revealed, the gloves are off, and we’re in trouble.’

‘I don’t know how much of our argument she heard, but I think it must have been most of it, and she must have misunderstood. After all, we were only trying to be helpful.’

‘She interpreted that as interfering, though. We have some explaining to do.’ Dan snatched his hat from a chair and put it on. ‘I’ll go and find her now.’

‘I’m coming with you. Neither of us is used to explaining ourselves. It might take both of us to get the job done.’

‘True,’ Dan agreed dryly. ‘By the way, George, what did you want to see me about?’

‘Just to let you know that James is coming to the Savoy on Saturday.’

‘Then we had better sort this out right now. If James finds out we’ve upset her, he’ll give us hell!’

George pulled a face. ‘I’ll have to see if I can return to active duty as well. It could be safer there!’

Both officers smiled grimly as they marched out of the office.

Dan drove straight to Grace’s home, and when he knocked on the door, it was opened by her father.

‘Good evening, Ted. We’re sorry to bother you, but we would like to see Grace. May I introduce Colonel Askew.’

‘Pleased to meet you, sir. I’m afraid she isn’t here, Dan.’ Ted turned and called, ‘Where did Grace say she was going, Jean?’

‘To the pictures. The Odeon, I think she said.’

‘Ah, in that case she will be quite a while. You are both welcome to come in and wait.’

‘Thank you.’ Dan smiled. ‘We are in a hurry, so we’ll see if we can find her.’

‘We can’t wait around all evening,’ George said, as Dan pulled up near the cinema.

‘I don’t intend to. We’ll get the manager to put a message on the screen, asking her to come outside.’

George looked at his nephew in disbelief. ‘And you think that will put her in a receptive mood, do you? She’s already angry enough, Dan!’

‘I am not leaving it until tomorrow.’

George shrugged, knowing that when Dan was set on an action, nothing would change his mind. ‘All right. I’ll stand behind you.’

Dan laughed, and his uncle scowled. ‘You’ve been nothing but trouble ever since you were born.’

‘Stop grumbling. Let’s find the manager.’

The two officers were an impressive sight as they marched into the cinema foyer.

Grace was startled and alarmed when her name came up on the screen asking for her to come outside immediately. Fortunately she was only six seats in from the aisle and didn’t have to disturb too many people as she left. Her heart was thumping as she hurried out. When she saw the two officers waiting for her, she was even more worried.

‘What’s happened?’ she asked, rushing up to them.

‘We need to talk to you about this afternoon,’ George told her.

For a moment she couldn’t quite grasp what he was saying. Then it registered, and she looked from one officer to the other in astonishment. ‘Are you telling me you had my name put up on the screen, just because you want to talk to me?’

‘Sorry about that, Grace. It was Dan’s idea.’

Her gaze fixed on the major. This was unbelievable!

‘You frightened me. I thought the invasion must have begun – or there had been some disaster.’

‘It is a disaster,’ Dan told her. ‘We’ve never had to explain ourselves before – let alone apologise.’

The sight of these two powerful army officers standing in front of her, and looking slightly uneasy, was too much for Grace. She fought to hold on to her emotions.

‘The need to apologise is a disaster?’

‘Absolutely. We’ve never been in this position before, have we, George?’

‘Damned uncomfortable thing to have to do without practice.’

Grace could contain herself no longer, and burst into laughter. They were working as a double act!

‘This is ridiculous!’

‘Yes, isn’t it?’ Dan grinned, seeing her sense of humour taking over from anger. ‘Nevertheless, it must be done. Don’t you agree, George?’

‘Oh, absolutely. We can’t have our girl misunderstanding our motives. So, I think we should go to the pub across the road and have a drink.’

‘But you can’t go in a pub,’ Grace declared. ‘It will probably be full of soldiers, and having two officers walk in will spoil their evening.’

‘Why?’ Dan asked, innocently.

There was a huge mirror in the foyer and Grace made them turn round to face it. ‘You have to ask why? Take a good look at yourselves. In full uniform you would intimidate anyone.’

‘Do you know what she’s talking about, George?’

‘Not a clue, dear chap.’

They were enjoying themselves now. Grace was laughing so much she had to find a chair to sit on. ‘Heaven help this country with you two in charge. You are impossible!’

‘That’s the nicest compliment you have ever given me.’ Dan came and sat beside her. ‘So, will you come and have a drink with us? After we’ve finished grovelling we can be friends again.’

‘How can I refuse such an invitation? And I must admit to being curious to see how you manage such an unfamiliar task.’

Grace walked between the two men as they crossed the road to the pub, and reflected on what the major had said about them being friends again. Was that what had grown between them over the last few weeks? Certainly, she would never have spoken to James the way she did
with Dan. Although having respect and liking for each other, Grace had never crossed the boundary between boss and secretary. That divide had never really been there with this difficult man. How could it, when he had dragged her round muddy fields, made her hide in ditches, and had even thrown her round a monster of an assault course. Perhaps they had become friends.

When they reached the pub, Dan held open a door marked Saloon Bar, and winked at her. Yes, friends, she thought. She liked that.

They could hear the noise coming from the Public Bar, but it was quieter in here.

‘What are you going to have?’ Dan asked, ushering her towards a table in the corner.

‘A gin with lots of tonic, please.’

‘Double whisky for me. If they’ve got it, of course,’ George said.

Dan soon returned with two drinks each. ‘Saves keeping going to the bar,’ he explained.

There was silence between them for a moment as they all savoured their drinks, and then Dan asked, ‘Why were you angry when you heard what we were saying, Grace?’

‘You were having a row about me, as if I was some burden you didn’t know what to do with. I was offended, and hurt. I am not some helpless female who can’t make her own decisions, and it was insulting to hear you in a heated argument about me.’

‘I apologise for that. It was entirely my fault,’ Dan explained. ‘I am returning to my regiment this Sunday, and George told me I must tell you today. I knew that, and had been putting it off. I suppose guilt made me explode.
We have become fond of you in the short time you have been with us, and our only desire was to help you. We see now, though, that we had no right to make enquiries about another job without your permission. And for that, we both apologise, and ask for your forgiveness.’

Grace glanced across at the colonel who was staring at his nephew as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

‘He’s good, isn’t he,’ Grace remarked.

‘Good gracious!’ The colonel took a swig of whisky. ‘I’ve never heard him be so humble!’

‘Ah, but was I convincing enough?’ Dan gave Grace a questioning look.

‘You were very eloquent, and I believed you meant every word. Now it’s my turn. I knew the job with you was at an end, and I was feeling sad about it. It has been an adventure, and I have enjoyed working with you. I will have happy memories to take away with me. That is why when I found you arguing about what to do with me I was very hurt, and I reacted badly. I hope you will also accept my apology for speaking so disrespectfully to both of you? I was wrong, and I’m sorry.’

‘That’s very generous of you, Grace, but you don’t need to apologise to us.’ The colonel raised his glass. ‘Here’s to friendship.’